Brubaker Discusses his Love for Creator-Owned Comics and Why He Doesn't Miss Superheroes

[MrStatham]

I agree with his point about crossovers being inferior to the creators' other work. I'd rather have more spin-off books like Black Widow and Moon Knight by creators I like rather than another big crossover event. I wish the big 2 would listen and take heed but the almighty dollar and bottom line still drives those decisions I guess.

Glad to hear every new book from team Brubaker is selling more than the previous one. I got back into reading comics because of Fatale, Lazarus and the Wake back in 2012-2013. Considering how well Image is doing now, I hope they get around to releasing the nice deluxe editions of Fatale (vol.2) and Velvet soon. The OHC deluxe editions of Scene of the Crime, Fatrale v.1 and Lazarus are excellent.

I imagine that Brubaker/Phillips will get around to doing the second Fatale HC eventually - they're probably just trying to maximise profits on the three TPB's before they do it, given the HC's take six months to a year to come out after the last trade they collect.

[InformationGeek]

It's nice to know he's doing fine, but Brubaker for me is too many misses than hits. Love his Catwoman run for sure and thought Velvet was pretty good. Otherwise, his Captain America run was just okay to me, Fatale was forgettable as hell, and his Criminal books just don't much for me despite being a huge fan of crime stories.

[DIVINITY]

I got back into comics real heavy at the start of Brubakers' Cap run, then I followed his X-Men run, and I've been a fan of his writing ever since, I really wanna go back and get his Gotham Central. As far as his creator-owned stuff, I've picked up everything so far except Incognito, and the second half of Fatale, imo, Criminal, was his best creator-owned work. I love reading that he hates the 20 page format as much as I do, and for that, I'm thankful that he puts so much into his work, he's got a supporter for life...

[Hero]

Gotham Central is a must read, and is in no way a superhero comic, in my opinion. Of course, Rucka is awesome on that run, too.

[DIVINITY]

Gotham Central is a must read, and is in no way a superhero comic, in my opinion. Of course, Rucka is awesome on that run, too.

Consider it done, I'll add it to my HeroesCon list, I should be able to get singles cheap, I don't do trades. I need to pick up Scene of the Crime as well, although, I think that's HC only, if so, that's fine.

[Big Geek]

In Brubaker I trust.

There isn't a single thing he's ever written that I haven't enjoyed. I loved his Marvel and DC work but he's stepped it up a notch with his creator owned stuff. I could tell before I read this article that he was a fan of the genre first. I love that he wants to reward fans like myself that want to have the extra content and love and appreciate print. I do buy digital books but I only get something in digital format if I know I love the print version first.

I am generally not a huge fan of Sci-Fi but I feel like if Brubaker wrote a Sci-Fi story, I'd love it.

[FiveGhosts]

I need to pick up Scene of the Crime as well, although, I think that's HC only, if so, that's fine.

I have it in TPB. It's only 4 issues, so you might find it at a con for a decent price.

[cgh]

In Brubaker I trust.

There isn't a single thing he's ever written that I haven't enjoyed. I loved his Marvel and DC work but he's stepped it up a notch with his creator owned stuff. I could tell before I read this article that he was a fan of the genre first. I love that he wants to reward fans like myself that want to have the extra content and love and appreciate print. I do buy digital books but I only get something in digital format if I know I love the print version first.

I am generally not a huge fan of Sci-Fi but I feel like if Brubaker wrote a Sci-Fi story, I'd love it.

This sums up my thoughts exactly. It goes to show you it's not so much genre that counts as the writer. I'd probably read a Brubaker swords and sorcery fantasy book, complete with talking dragons and "tankards of mead" even though I hate that stuff. The guy can do no wrong in my eyes, particularly with his creator-owned material.

I think it helps to have an appreciation for his sources. A lot of people didn't seem to get Fatale, for example, but if you grew up loving Lovecraft and Howard, among others, then it was just a fantastic read. Same with Velvet ('60s spy novels) and of course The Fade-Out, which makes its sources explicit. Increasingly, a lot of his work is contextual in this way and if the majority of your reading is comics then it might not be quite the same deep experience.

It possibly helps to be of a certain age. I'm not sure how many teens and people in their 20s still read Lovecraft et al.

[Billy Batson]

Consider it done, I'll add it to my HeroesCon list, I should be able to get singles cheap, I don't do trades. I need to pick up Scene of the Crime as well, although, I think that's HC only, if so, that's fine.

There's an old soft cover edition of Scene of the Crime published by Vertigo in the 90's.

[MrStatham]

It possibly helps to be of a certain age. I'm not sure how many teens and people in their 20s still read Lovecraft et al.

I think you'd be surprised. Given an increasing number of writers invoke Lovecraft's approach to cosmic horror in their stories or outright reference concepts like Cthulhu, Lovecraft's managed to stay relatively prominent, from what I can see.

[banky]

I think you'd be surprised. Given an increasing number of writers invoke Lovecraft's approach to cosmic horror in their stories or outright reference concepts like Cthulhu, Lovecraft's managed to stay relatively prominent, from what I can see.

I agree with you regarding H.P.Lovecraft's influence amongst current horror fiction writers. Sometimes the occult is referenced in horror films or television on a superficial level only, which cheapens the overall effect but with Brubaker's work you get a clearer sense he understands the source material and is working at the underlying motivations or origins in his writing. I think the Case of Alfred Ravenscroft (Fatale #11) was one of the more direct references to Lovecraft and a nice one shot story that addressed the themes for the series.

I agree the genre hybrids make Brubaker's work in Fatale & Sleeper more interesting as he pushes the conventions of horror or pulp. I disagree that the similarity of the Fade Out to Ellroy's work makes it derivative or unoriginal. There's nothing wrong with drawing from good source material as inspiration. I think Criminal was a great example of how there are numerous possibilities within a genre tradition like crime pulp fiction. It's not so much as trying to outdo Westlake or Thompson as it is showing what's possible in the graphic format within the same genre.

[John Aston]

Been on the Brubaker/Phillips bandwagon since Sleeper. I get Marvel can pay the bills and a good way to build some name-recognition in order to avoid jumping into creator-owed projects in a vacuum. Creatively, Brubaker has been top-notch with his Image projects. I'd much rather read something he's passionate about and unrestrained by coporate editorial directions.